Posts Tagged ‘books’

30 October – the International Day of Political Prisoners – some actions

November 2, 2026

On Oct. 30, the Human Rights Foundation observed the International Day of Political Prisoners, honoring the estimated 1 million political prisoners globally. These detainees are targeted not for committing any crime, but for their work as journalists, opposition leaders, lawyers, artists, and human rights defenders — or for simply expressing their beliefs. Too often, their stories are distilled to mere statistics. But these individuals are not just numbers. They have families, friends, jobs, and full lives that have been ripped away from them.

HRF highlighted the experiences of six political prisoners in their own words, through letters and other communications they have bravely shared with the world.

Dispatches from Detention: Dauletmurat Tazhimuratov

Dauletmurat Tazhimuratov

Dauletmurat Tazhimuratov is a Karakalpak lawyer, journalist, and human rights defender in Uzbekistan. He was detained in July 2022 for protesting constitutional amendments that would have stripped Karakalpakstan of its status as a sovereign republic within Uzbekistan. He was initially sentenced to 16 years; Uzbekistan has since extended his imprisonment to nearly 18 years. He is held in a remote, high-security penal colony, and there are reports of torture and ill-treatment. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) determined that his detention is arbitrary following a submission by HRF in July 2024.

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Dispatches from Detention: Dr. Mahrang Baloch

Mahrang Baloch

Dr. Mahrang Baloch is a Baloch human rights defender and founder of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee, a network of activists promoting human rights in Balochistan. She was arrested at a peaceful protest in March 2025 and detained for three months without trial. In July 2025, the day her detention was set for review, Pakistan instead brought terrorism charges against her. Nearly a year later and after a trial riddled with due process violations, she was sentenced to two terms of life in prison. HRF submitted her case to the WGAD in August.

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Dispatches from Detention: Victoire Ingabire

Victoire Ingabire

Victoire Ingabire is a leading Rwandan opposition figure, advocate for democratic reform, and founder of the political party Development and Liberty for All. She was first arrested in 2010 when she returned from exile to run for president and was imprisoned until 2018, when she received a presidential pardon. On June 19, 2025, she was arrested again after testifying in a trial involving eight of her party members and an independent journalist. She remains in detention, and now faces a trial in which the prosecution seeks a life sentence. The WGAD determined that her detention is arbitrary following a submission by HRF in November 2025.

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Dispatches from Detention: Umar Khalid

Umar Khalid

Umar Khalid is an Indian activist and former researcher at Jawaharlal Nehru University, where he was a leader of the Democratic Students’ Union. Khalid was arrested on Sept. 13, 2020, after becoming a prominent figure in protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act, which excluded Muslims from eligibility for fast-tracked Indian citizenship. Khalid has been detained for more than six years without trial, solely for exercising the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. The WGAD found Khalid’s detention to be arbitrary following HRF’s March 2025 petition.

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Dispatches from Detention: Ulviyya Ali

Ulviyya Ali

Ulviyya Ali is an Azerbaijani journalist who spent years reporting for Voice of America (VOA) on human rights abuses by Azerbaijani officials. In a country ranked among the top 10 most repressive regimes for press freedom, her work has played a vital role in preserving independent journalism. Two months after President Donald Trump’s March 2025 executive order that effectively shuttered VOA, police in Baku arrested Ali on fabricated currency smuggling charges. She remains imprisoned, awaiting sentencing in harsh conditions. She faced police violence and threats of sexual assault on the day of her arrest, has been denied essential medical care, and has been subjected to further retaliation for refusing to remain silent — including being placed in a cell with a person accused of manslaughter. HRF submitted her case to a group of UN special procedures in May 2026.

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Dispatches from Detention: Vadim Kobzev & Alexei Liptser

Vadim Kobzev and Alexei Liptser

Vadim Kobzev and Alexei Liptser were members of the legal team for Alexei Navalny, the late Russian opposition leader. Both attorneys challenged Navalny’s prosecution amid an intensifying crackdown on dissent in Russia. In October 2023, they were arrested on politically motivated charges of “extremism” related to their work with Navalny. They were convicted and sentenced to multi-year prison terms in penal colonies, in a case that has become emblematic of Russia’s mounting pressure on independent lawyers and the rule of law. HRF submitted Kobzev and Liptser’s case to the WGAD in January 2026.

Dispatches from Detention

Hong Kong Watch marks International Day of Political Prisoners in joint statement from coalition of over 50 human rights groups

https://www.hongkongwatch.org/all-posts/2026/10/30/hong-kong-watch-marks-international-day-of-political-prisoners-in-joint-statement-from-coalition-of-over-50-human-rights-groups

https://www.eeas.europa.eu/eeas/russia-statement-spokesperson-day-remembrance-victims-political-repression_en

https://eastleighvoice.co.ke/news/417371/un-leaders-call-for-action-to-protect-women-journalists-covering-conflict?amp=1

https://www.democracywithoutborders.org/45892/freedom-for-political-prisoners-should-be-a-global-priority-appeal-says

https://achpr.au.int/en/news/press-releases/2026-11-02/international-day-end-impunity-crimes-against-journalists-02

https://www.ohchr.org/en/statements-and-speeches/2026/11/impunity-crimes-against-journalists-fuels-further-violence-and

Statement on the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists

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Meet Our Members: a series by Liberties – a European umbrella network – here Polish Zuzanna Nowicka

April 24, 2026
Mette Meyknecht on 21 April, 2026, makes us meet up Zuzanna Nowicka Lawyer (Freedom of Expression Programme) at the Polish Helsinki Foundation For Human Rights.

Meet Our Members is a series where Liberties introduces you to our network of human rights defenders. We hear the stories of the people behind the organisations and why they do the work they do. Liberties is an umbrella network which coordinates campaigns with its expanding network of national civil liberties NGOs in 18 EU Member States. 

Zuzanna speaks about her work with quiet defiance. No grand declarations or sweeping ideals, but with persistence in the daily decision, to keep going. “I just think it’s important,” she says simply. “I couldn’t imagine doing something that is not for the public good.”

Zuzanna is a lawyer at the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights in Poland, where she focuses on freedom of expression and strategic litigation. But her path into human rights law wasn’t linear. After studying law and working in various law firms, she realised something wasn’t quite right. “I was simply not feeling it,” she recalls. “I did not find myself comfortable working in those conditions.”

Despite early exposure to human rights work through internships, NGO roles, and advocacy campaigns, it took time to fully embrace it as a career. A formative moment came after graduating, when, uncertain about her next steps, a position at the Helsinki Foundation appeared unexpectedly. Her interview, she admits with a laugh, did not go well. “The internet connection was really bad… I couldn’t hear half of the things,” she says. “But for some reason, they trusted me, and I got hired.”

That was four years ago. She has been there ever since.

Zuzanna’s work today, defending freedom of expression, is deeply personal. She grew up surrounded by journalists: her parents, grandparents, and extended family all worked in the media. She explains that, from an early age, “I was a direct witness of the worsening situation in the media.” Although she initially wanted to study journalism, her parents encouraged her to pursue law instead. Today, her work spans litigation before national courts and the European Court of Human Rights, legal advocacy, training, and public engagement. She drafts opinions on legislation, contributes to coalitions, and even hosts a podcast discussing pressing issues in Poland. It’s everything,” she says of her role. “Litigation, advocacy, writing, training – all of it.”

When asked about her proudest achievement, Zuzanna does not point to a specific case. Instead, she speaks about endurance. “I think what I’m most proud of is the persistence,” she says. “I just keep going.” It is a job that demands constant adaptation, from juggling multiple areas of law, responding to rapidly changing political developments, and managing a heavy workload. At any given time, she may be handling around 20 ongoing cases, alongside urgent advocacy work.

meetourmembers

https://www.liberties.eu/en/stories/meet-our-members-poland/45671

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Profile of Kant Kaw, Myanmar journalist and HRD

February 7, 2026

On 2 February2026 Exile Hub, one of Global Voices’ partners in Southeast,Asia, published this story on How Kant Kaw turned a dream into a 15-year fight for equality in Myanmar.

Kant Kaw’s journey into journalism officially began in 2009, but her story started long before that. As a child, she devoured books of every kind, captivated by the power of language. She dreamed of becoming a writer, yet understood early that writing alone could not sustain her. So she pursued practical jobs while holding on to her passion. Everything changed the day she discovered journalism. For her, it was the perfect convergence of purpose and livelihood. It allowed her to write, to witness, and to serve the public. Fifteen years later, she remains in the field, saying that she never stopped loving the work.

Kant Kaw soon realized that her calling extended beyond reporting events as they unfolded. She felt compelled to disclose the struggles that women in Myanmar face every day. “I met women who had to carry their fear in silence, yet still found the strength to protect their children and families. They wake up every morning choosing survival. In our conversations, I saw not weakness, but extraordinary strength — especially during moments of political upheaval.”

Through Kant Kaw’s work, stories that might otherwise have remained untold reached wider audiences. For example, she shone a light on the realities of a young mother in a conflict-affected township who begins each day calculating risk, choosing safer routes to buy food, wondering whether her child’s school will be open, and navigating military checkpoints.

Years of reporting, especially in post-coup Myanmar, have taken a toll. These days, she practices intentional self-care to sustain her work: music, hiking, friendships, and proactive emotional problem-solving. She gives care as much as she receives it, offering support and presence to friends who struggle. She knows the stakes:

Her dream of becoming a writer did come true — just not in the way she first imagined. She writes for the public, for women whose voices have been muted by injustice, and continues to write as an act of resistance, a record of truth, and a source of hope.

Through her writing, she pushes back against silence, against injustice, and against anyone who dares to underestimate what a woman can do.

https://globalvoices.org/2026/02/02/beyond-the-bylines-how-kant-kaw-turned-a-dream-into-a-15-year-fight-for-equality-in-myanmar/

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Brian Dooley awarded the University of Oslo’s Human Rights Award 2025

September 16, 2025

Brian J. Dooley is an Irish human rights activist and author. He is Senior Advisor at Washington DC–based NGO Human Rights First. In October 2023 he was made an Honorary Professor of Practice at the Mitchell Institute, Queen’s University Belfast. He is a visiting scholar at University College, London (UCL). He is a prominent human rights voice on Twitter (@dooley_dooley).

From April 2020 to March 2023 he was Senior Advisor to Mary Lawlor, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders. He is as an advisory board member of the Gulf Centre for Human Rights, and was a visiting scholar at John Jay College, City University of New York from 2022 to 2023, and at Fordham University Law School in New York from 2019 to 2020.

He receives the award for having dedicated his career to advocating human rights and bringing greater global attention to less visible issues. Congratulations with a big DISCLAIMER : I am a good friend and admirer of Brian [see posts: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/tag/brian-dooley/] and he has represented Human Rights First on the MEA Jury for years.

For more on the University of Oslo Human Rights Award and its laureates see: https://www.trueheroesfilms.org/thedigest/awards/41A114AE-182E-4EB3-8823-4A5AA6EEEF28

Dooley has written numerous reports on human rights defenders and human rights issues based on research in countries including Bahrain, Egypt, China (Hong Kong), Hungary, Kenya, Lebanon, Northern Ireland, Palestine, Ukraine, the USA (Guantanamo), and the United Arab Emirates.  His efforts have played a crucial role in exposing human rights violations, and he has actively supported justice in conflict areas, including Ukraine and Northern Ireland.

Commenting on the Award, Brian Dooley said: “This is such a great honour for me, and I’m very grateful to the University of Oslo for recognising my work.  I’ve been very lucky over decades that my work with Amnesty International, with The Gulf Centre for Human Rights, with Mary Lawlor – the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders – and with Human Rights First has enabled me to meet and work with Human Rights Defenders working in some of the most difficult places in the world.  Too often great work by local activists in wars or revolutions, or those living under oppression, goes unseen and unreported.  This award helps bring attention to this work, and to those who do it.”

Brian will receive his Award during the Oslo Peace Days this coming December.

https://www.qub.ac.uk/Research/GRI/mitchell-institute/news/15092025-ProfessorBrianDooleyAward.html

https://www.uio.no/english/about/news-and-events/news/2025/uios-human-rights-award-2025.html

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